Effective teaching and learning needs to take place in order for schools to perform to the nation’s expectation. Grant-aided and private schools pay particular attention to what happens in the classroom. Teaching and learning resources are a priority for any meaningful education to take place in the classroom. Teachers need the teaching aids required to effectively and
successfully deliver their lessons. Pupils need the necessary learning materials
to help them engage with the lessons at hand. Effective teaching requires a
manageable class size so that the teacher has ample individual attention for the
learners so that he is able to assess his learners’ individual progress and
challenges as the lesson is progressing. This practice, called Assessment for
Learning (AfL) helps the teacher know and gauge the progress of the child on a
daily basis throughout the course of learning and makes appropriate
differentiated approaches in his teaching style to meet the individual learning
needs of his pupils. This can only be possible in a class where the
teacher-pupil ratio is small. The challenge in government schools is that large
class sizes make this impossible and learning does not therefore take place.
Teachers need continuous support in their job as each pupil that enters the
classroom has his own individual learning style and needs. A lot of teachers are
left at their own devices in most government schools with no professional
mentoring from senior teachers who may either be overloaded with work or are
also not up to scratch with modern teaching methods that engage pupils to learn
with higher order thinking skills, creativity and curiosity. Our Zambian pupils
are distracted by a lot of things in this modern era and unless the teachers’
approaches and methods are aimed at addressing the inquisitive and creative mind
of today’s learners, then no learning will be taking place in the
classrooms. Therefore, it is important that teachers at school level engage in
professional mentoring, team teaching and bespoke professional development
workshops tailored to addresses the learning and teaching needs of their
individual schools. Such practices are easy to carry out in most private schools
because there is no red tape when it comes to embracing and implementing
change that brings positive results in the classroom.
Teacher and pupil discipline is paramount in implementing successful teaching
and learning practices. Grant aided and private schools have high discipline
benchmarks set for both their teachers and pupils. Punctuality among teachers is
never compromised. Each minute is accounted for. Professional ethics are
discussed and emphasised. School managers demand high discipline and
professionalism at all times. They do not relent on enforcing these. In most
government schools, school managers do not seem to have the muscle to call an
erring staff to order. The bureaucracy involved in disciplining the teachers
makes the head teachers relent and succumb to their teachers’ impunity. This has
a knock-on effect in the entire teaching-learning process and the ultimate
victim of teacher indiscipline is often the learner who will never recover his
or her lost time.
Notwithstanding all these issues above, the government teachers do largely
execute their job with zeal but are quite often encumbered with numerous
challenges which their colleagues in grant aided and private schools do not
face. Grant aided and private schools often select, for admission, pupils with
very high marks compared to the majority of the government schools. This
gives them higher numbers of high academic achievers and well motivated
learners. Pupils in private schools are motivated by the fact that their
parents are paying a lot of money to invest in their education and often such
parents have a keen interest in their children’s performance thereby they play a
key role in motivating them to learn. Teachers in government schools largely
have to deal with less motivated and low achieving pupils whose scores could not
see them into top-class grant aided schools. Teachers often find this
challenging compounded by overcrowded classrooms, lack of textbooks and teaching
aids. Consequently they get frustrated and their morale drops hence
affecting the efficacy of their teaching.
The most disadvantaged are teachers in rural schools living in deplorable
housing conditions and with no access to facilities enjoyed by their urban
counterparts. This in itself is less motivating and gradually compromises the
teachers’ effectiveness at their job.
Much as we talk about the introduction of local languages in our schools to
boost our literacy levels and produce good results, we also need to look at
other factors that promote teaching and learning.
successfully deliver their lessons. Pupils need the necessary learning materials
to help them engage with the lessons at hand. Effective teaching requires a
manageable class size so that the teacher has ample individual attention for the
learners so that he is able to assess his learners’ individual progress and
challenges as the lesson is progressing. This practice, called Assessment for
Learning (AfL) helps the teacher know and gauge the progress of the child on a
daily basis throughout the course of learning and makes appropriate
differentiated approaches in his teaching style to meet the individual learning
needs of his pupils. This can only be possible in a class where the
teacher-pupil ratio is small. The challenge in government schools is that large
class sizes make this impossible and learning does not therefore take place.
Teachers need continuous support in their job as each pupil that enters the
classroom has his own individual learning style and needs. A lot of teachers are
left at their own devices in most government schools with no professional
mentoring from senior teachers who may either be overloaded with work or are
also not up to scratch with modern teaching methods that engage pupils to learn
with higher order thinking skills, creativity and curiosity. Our Zambian pupils
are distracted by a lot of things in this modern era and unless the teachers’
approaches and methods are aimed at addressing the inquisitive and creative mind
of today’s learners, then no learning will be taking place in the
classrooms. Therefore, it is important that teachers at school level engage in
professional mentoring, team teaching and bespoke professional development
workshops tailored to addresses the learning and teaching needs of their
individual schools. Such practices are easy to carry out in most private schools
because there is no red tape when it comes to embracing and implementing
change that brings positive results in the classroom.
Teacher and pupil discipline is paramount in implementing successful teaching
and learning practices. Grant aided and private schools have high discipline
benchmarks set for both their teachers and pupils. Punctuality among teachers is
never compromised. Each minute is accounted for. Professional ethics are
discussed and emphasised. School managers demand high discipline and
professionalism at all times. They do not relent on enforcing these. In most
government schools, school managers do not seem to have the muscle to call an
erring staff to order. The bureaucracy involved in disciplining the teachers
makes the head teachers relent and succumb to their teachers’ impunity. This has
a knock-on effect in the entire teaching-learning process and the ultimate
victim of teacher indiscipline is often the learner who will never recover his
or her lost time.
Notwithstanding all these issues above, the government teachers do largely
execute their job with zeal but are quite often encumbered with numerous
challenges which their colleagues in grant aided and private schools do not
face. Grant aided and private schools often select, for admission, pupils with
very high marks compared to the majority of the government schools. This
gives them higher numbers of high academic achievers and well motivated
learners. Pupils in private schools are motivated by the fact that their
parents are paying a lot of money to invest in their education and often such
parents have a keen interest in their children’s performance thereby they play a
key role in motivating them to learn. Teachers in government schools largely
have to deal with less motivated and low achieving pupils whose scores could not
see them into top-class grant aided schools. Teachers often find this
challenging compounded by overcrowded classrooms, lack of textbooks and teaching
aids. Consequently they get frustrated and their morale drops hence
affecting the efficacy of their teaching.
The most disadvantaged are teachers in rural schools living in deplorable
housing conditions and with no access to facilities enjoyed by their urban
counterparts. This in itself is less motivating and gradually compromises the
teachers’ effectiveness at their job.
Much as we talk about the introduction of local languages in our schools to
boost our literacy levels and produce good results, we also need to look at
other factors that promote teaching and learning.